Liontamer Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 (edited) Contact Information Draconiator Justin Landry https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRtgNmluXn0fIr4O2gVdY1g (inactive) 17504 Submission Information Castlevania "The Dungeons of Castle Dracula" "Poison Mind" Nintendo Entertainment System https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSVoSPtrCRo Here's something I wanted to remix for a while, but as it happens, since my last mix, REAL LIFE(tm) hit me upside the head like a thousand rabid monkeys. Or something. I thought I never finished it, but I did find this track languishing around by its lonesome, and to me it sounds finished ENOUGH. Unfortunately, over the years I moved away from music creation so this is the only time I will submit this particular piece. I remember wanting to dial the creepiness factor up to 11, so I employed some super wet piano that sounds more like something plucked. The Choir Strings are from a soundfont, and the organ is a free VST. I's conservative, but I tried to make it interesting sounding to try and make up for it. MP3 file is attached to this e-mail. Edited December 6, 2023 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted August 9, 2023 Share Posted August 9, 2023 Opens up with some etherial sounds that I definitely wouldn't have pegged as "piano" if it weren't in the description. Then we get choir and snare drum, and a synth of some sort; I don't hear anything that sounds like an organ until 2:27. The big challenge with any Poison Mind remix is that it's an extremely short, repetitive tune. It's hard to make something substantial out of that. Unfortunately, I don't think this is a success on that front. The piano never lets up, and the choir rarely does. The snare dropping in and out is the only really dynamic element; otherwise it's pretty much all just that piano, usually on top of a pad of some sort. I think the tone is great, there's just not enough going on to retain the listener's interest for four and a half minutes. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted August 28, 2023 Share Posted August 28, 2023 classic original, highly repetitive. initial arp in the 'piano', and some choir comes in after a little while. we get a snare and other synth at 0:56, and there's a light chime in there too. 1:25 there's a time change, and what probably is an organ in the lower reaches. at this point the 'piano's been trucking for the entire song, and it's showing no letting up. by about the 2 minute mark, we continue to noodle through the progression with the same instrumentation, and at 2:26 it gets even slower and lower. this is plodding at this point, and it's not had notable development of the original chord structure, 'melodic' line, or instrumentation. at 3:35 the organ cuts after a few run-throughs of the chord progression, and the piano carries us out for the rest of the track. the lack of varied instrumentation or a progression of the interpretation really hurts this track. as it gets lower and slower, it doesn't hold interest, and so just gets boring. the highly repetitive chord structure and lack of a true melody to grab onto plays into that. this needs some significant additions to get it over the finish line. right now it's boring =( which is never something you want to hear about a song. find a way to draw in and hold the listener's ear, and that'll really get it going in the right direction. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 29, 2023 Author Share Posted August 29, 2023 Opens up very slow. Looking forward to hearing how this develops, because this intro's got me intrigued. The vox timing seems a little off, but the mood is good. Drums enter in at :55, sounding pretty fake, but serviceable. 1:23 gets slowed down and dissonant, and I'm awaiting where the transition's going to go; Still slow at 1:54 and it felt like there could have been more a pivot there. 2:25 drops out the drums entirely in favor of an organ, and pushes the countermelody way up for a different feel. The organ line rises nicely over time to start become overbearing (in a good, contrasting way) by 2:47. The synth line drops out at 3:00 as things start getting more subtractive. At 3:36, the organ drops out, and we're left with the opening pattern until the finish. It's a different approach that Onrik Dreamer's recent piece, which was groove-based, but the overarching strategy isn't too different, i.e. stick with the theme the whole time and provide variations through textural evolutions. If you focus on the melody or the countermelody's instrumentation, both of those change over time. This totally would have flown in a huge way back in ye olden days, which isn't to say that it fails today's standards. Where's Children of the Monkey Machine when we need him on the panel? It is a limited & repetitive source tune, sure, so I can understand how slowing it down and working with it in this way could be viewed as droning/boring or feel too repetitive. The arrangement value comes from these textures never staying in one place, even though you may think they are. To me, Justin does a nice job dropping lines in and out, and varying the textures to have a piece that just morphs around over time, never settling into any one mood for too long, while having a dark vibe throughout. Loop this some and you can appreciate the subtles ways the soundscape evolves on a greater level. IMO, the other Js are underselling the positives of the arrangement; it's tough to get mileage out of this, and Draconiator's been completely short-changed so far. I also didn't feel the mixing/production did this concept a disservice; it's dark, ghostly, gloomy, and unsettling; it could absolutely fit in a next-gen Castlevania with a mood like this and morphing textures that aren't cut-and-paste loops. I may not be able to win the day here, and that's fine. To me, these NOs didn't step back to appreciate how transformative the theme treatment was, and undersold the low-key textural changes over time. We shouldn't be turning this down, and I think it's a shame to tell Justin it needs a major overhaul when it's a creative approach to begin with. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted December 3, 2023 Share Posted December 3, 2023 Very simple, short, repetitive source tune, which is fine but often makes remixing difficult. Not impossible, just difficult. I hear why Larry is giving credit to this remix, the approach is very creative, cool and moody. I like the evolving textures. But I have to agree with the NOs that this arrangement isn't developed enough to qualify as a standalone musical piece. It feels like a four and a half minute intro with no substance ever appearing. I like what is here, but it is overly simplistic and it feels like a substructure and not a fully developed song. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSim Posted December 6, 2023 Share Posted December 6, 2023 It's a haunting, atmospheric piece up until 1:54, which is where it becomes too noticeably repetitive. There are variations throughout the piece, but the established sound doesn't evolve enough, the texture doesn't change enough, and the dynamics of the piece don't move enough for it to warrant such a long running time. If you want to make a brooding theme like this, it has to expand more on the ideas established in the beginning, otherwise the listener will lose interest. It's a shame you won't be returning to this one, but something to bear in mind for the future. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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